TNAG-1392-FCO40-1864-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-for-meetings-and-visits-1985 — Page 228

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9. A decision to take such a number on a continuing basis will not

be an easy one for HMG. Resettlement of Vietnamese in this country

is difficult, and there is a high rate of unemployment among them.

Nevertheless we believe that it is the key to unlocking the

resettlement problem,

graver consequences.

continuing

off take

and

We

much

that failure to unlock it will have

therefore believe that the case for a

should be pressed initially with the Home

Secretary, and later if necessary in Cabinet Committee. This should

be coupled with a study of what training might most appropriately be

given to Vietnamese destined for this country in an effort to avoid

some of the problems we face with those already here. This might

include examination

of the possibility of our using the refugee

processing centre at Batan (paragraph 25(a) (iii) of the paper

refers).

10.

Of the other options for increasing resettlement we do not

believe that regional integration offers any prospect of success:

other regional countries such as Thailand have ruled out absorbing

more. Local absorption in Hong Kong might be a possibility for a

small number, but only if the rate of arrivals

can be drastically

reduced.

Decreasing arrivals

11.

Of the

unacceptable.

is clearly

identified options, towing out to sea

Screening new arrivals would be more likely to hinder

efforts to reduce the camp population in the absence of measures

for repatriation. The only identified option which seems to merit further exploration is repatriation to Vietnam.

our

Repatriation

12.

For the

explained reasons

repatriation on a voluntary basis

numbers; there are virtually no

paper

set

out

the

advantages

of in paragraph 25(a)

is unlikely to is unlikely to have much impact on

volunteers. Paras 17 and 18 of the

and

the paper,

drawbacks of involuntary

repatriation. The advantages are obvious:

if we could get a

scheme

going it would enable us substantially to dispose of the problem.

But it is

also clear that there are formidable

being adopted.

The

central points

are that such a

obstacles to its

scheme would not

CONFIDENTIAL